Athanatos Christian Ministries is an apologetics organization with an emphasis on defending the faith through the arts. Over the years, it has hosted numerous online conferences, but this year, they are going for the 'face to face' experience. The Athanatos Arts and Apologetics Festival will be held on 15 acres in Greenwood, WI.

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In the spirit of defending the faith through all of the arts, the festival will feature more than music. There are also a number of award winning authors presenting. Mark Spence, of Ray Comfort's "Living Waters" ministry (known for the movie "180"), will be debuting their newest movie, "The Atheist Delusion." The musician Sean Michel will headline Saturday's events. Humorists will be performing, and futurists will be presenting. Various workshops across various art forms will be offered: music, writing, drama.

ACM strives to encourage artists to be apologists and apologists to be artists, which means that both sides need to be engaged. FULL POST

It is said that a confession obtained through torture is null and void, and for good reason: people will confess to anything if enough pain is inflicted. Then, there is the ethics of the matter. Torture, it seems to me, undermines the dignity of both the person being tortured, and the one doing the torturing. A price is also paid by the society that sanctions it. There is always self-interest to take into account: the tortured may turn the tables... and he will not show mercy.

As with a man, so with a manuscript. To wit, the Constitution of these United States.

While there are occasions where there is genuine ambiguity in the language of the Constitution, and thus uncertainty on how it is to be applied, in other cases the language is crystal clear and the application straight-forward and obvious. To go against that clear language and obvious application, but still insist that one is acting according Constitutionally, requires torturing the text into saying something it plainly does not say. But torture comes with a price. Always.

The issue of ‘gay marriage’ currently being decided by your august body is one of those occasions where the language is clear and the application obvious. Not that the Constitution contains clear statements on the matter... exactly the opposite. The Constitution is utterly silent on the issue, but not silent about how to handle the things it is silent about. Witness the 10th Amendment, in its glorious absence of ambiguity: FULL POST

Perhaps it was Al Gore who popularized the term “inconvenient truth.” Although his truth is disputable at best, it is a fact that real truth is often poorly received by the populous.

While few dispute that turmoil, terrorism, and racism fill our world, many people refuse to believe the real reason behind all this.

America has never been, nor will ever be, a perfect country. But there are not many other countries where people are lining up for hours to get in—not to mention the millions who sneak in illegally. So much for the imperfect country.

I totally understand the longing to come to this country. As someone who was not born in the U.S., but dreamed of America’s freedom, I am deeply grateful that I am “an American.” I am no hyphenated American. I love America’s exceptionalism and would gladly defend it.

But this country that I love is facing dark times. There are many questions to be asked:

Why does the American dream seem to be turning into a nightmare? FULL POST

Whether it’s church liberals or political liberals, they have at least one thing in common—they often speak one way, but walk in the opposite direction.

A prime example of that character trait comes from “Gruber-gate,” namely the recent scandal about remarks of Jonathan Gruber, a key architect of Obamacare. Mr. Gruber has stated that the bill’s passage was contingent on exploiting the “stupidity” of the American voter.

As with Mr. Gruber, most liberals—whether they’re from mainline denominations or liberal evangelical churches, or from the political sphere—believe that the average American is stupid.

As they view their world through that prism, they naturally use words and proclamations that are designed to mislead and sucker the poor saps.

Nancy Pearcey, author of Saving Leonardo and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, will be our keynote presenter. The theme this year is 'Women Equipping Women' so all of the presenters are ladies.

In my last article, I explained the Judeo-Christian understanding of the Antichrist, and that he will somehow be intertwined with Israel, and more specifically, Jerusalem.

Because Islam borrowed a great deal from Judaism and Christianity, it is not surprising that they too have a figure with a messianic complex—the Mahdi, or the Guided One.

Muslims see the Mahdi as a savior who will lead a global revolution and establish a worldwide Islamic empire. The Mahdi will rule the earth as the final Caliph of Islam (a caliph is both a political ruler and a spiritual representative of Allah on earth).

Muslims revere Jesus (whom they call Isa) as the Masih or Messiah. In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi will arrive at the same time that Isa returns. Isa will descend to earth in Syria, east of Damascus, dressed in yellow robes, and will assist the Mahdi, who will rule over the earth for seven years (or, in some Islamic traditions, nine or nineteen years). At the end of the Mahdi’s rule, there will be a Day of Judgment for the entire human race. FULL POST

Many people—religious and non-religious—are asking questions about a word they hear the media use when referring to ISIS and other Islamist jihadists. That word is apocalyptic, which is used when specifically referring to the fatalism of Islamists.

People wonder, why do so many Muslims (both Sunni and Shiite) operate with such an “apocalyptic,” end-of-world mindset?

Our secular society, however, coupled with the media’s carelessness, is bandying about words like apocalyptic without using them properly and without explanation. That creates a great deal of confusion for some, many of which just throw up their hands in resignation and say, “I don’t understand this.”

But for those who want to understand, I am offering this 2-part column, taking excerpts from my newest book, Jesus, Jihad, and Peace. I hope this will put things into perspective, so when the media says that an Islamist entity (such as ISIS, al-Qaeda, Iran, etc.) operate with an apocalyptic vision, you can make sense of it. FULL POST

Today, many people are wondering if ISIS will ultimately destroy Western civilization. But before I address that question, we need to take a little journey to discover what Western culture has done to itself.

Beginning with the age of reason in the 17th century, Western culture built itself on the foundation of reason and objective truth.

In the 1960s, however, Western culture underwent a radical transformation. A new way of looking at reality—focusing on the inner, subjective experience instead of objective truth—profoundly affected the baby boomer generation.

In 1967, Dr. Timothy Leary toured the U.S., speaking on college campuses with a psychedelic light and sound presentation called “The Death of the Mind.” He urged students to experiment with LSD, start their own psychedelic religions, turn off their rational minds, and reach out to the universe with chemical-altered feelings to “run on, tune in, and drop out.” FULL POST

Whenever prophetic voices rise to explain world events from a non-secular perspective, those voices are minimized as “fringe” and “lunatic.”

But that is simply an occupational hazard of offering a prophetic voice. They will be beaten to a pulp by competing godless voices until they give in or give up.

For example, consider today’s voices in the wilderness that connect this country’s moral collapse to the twin scourges of terrorism and financial indebtedness. Anyone that connects our current struggles to our own spiritual and moral vacuum will be labeled a “nut.” I mean, who wants to hear about such things, right?

But even a cursory look at biblical prophets during times of crisis will quickly reveal how the godless voices of their day attacked them. FULL POST

Most observers of Richard Dawkins are not surprised to hear that he has said something outrageous. More and more, even his fellow atheists are surprised when he says something sensible. The latest row is over his comments suggesting that people have a moral obligation to abort a child diagnosed with a defect (in particular, Down Syndrome). Again, even his fellow atheists were put off by this, since the party line on abortion it is morally neutral, and a woman can get one or not get one, as she pleases.

The reactions, from both foes and fellow travelers, imply that the crux of this issue is that Dawkins is being rude. From this perspective, there are certain things you don’t say in polite society, even if you think them, and Dawkins has found one of them (again). The problem, you see, is one of decorum and Dawkins’ irascible personality and a violated social contract.

Dawkins, however, insists that what he is saying “simply follows logically from the ordinary pro-choice stance that most [of] us, I presume, espouse.” He sympathizes with his critics, but notes that their point is “an emotional one not a logical one.” And oh, by the way, what he is saying is not in the slightest “advocating a eugenics policy.”

Never mind that he is rude. Is he wrong? He has invoked logic, implying that there are propositions, premises, and inferences not far back from his comments. Moreover, he expects that his own fans share these foundational views and is more than a little surprised that they have not taken them to their logical conclusions. And what views might these be? FULL POST